Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 cancelled if it’s pushed back to February 2021

By Boxing News - 08/08/2020 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Dillian Whyte’s promoter Eddie Hearn is demanding that the Tyson Fury vs. Doentay Wilder 3 fight be canceled if it’s moved to February 2021 as Top Rank boss Bob Arum wants it to be.

Hearn says if they try to make the Fury-Wilder III fight to February of next year, then the Dillian Whyte’s mandatory status should be enforced at once, and that he would face Fury.

Hearn says the World Boxing Council has a deadline of February before Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) should be getting his mandated title shot. Eddie will then put together the Fury-Whyte fight, which he says will bring in between 1.5 to 2 million pay-per-view buys.

The PPV estimates that Hearn has for the Fury vs. Whyte clash sounds like a lot of speculation on his part. It’s a great fight, but the numbers it’ll do during the pandemic are likely going to be considerably less than Hearn’s prediction.

As of now, there’s too much unemployment and job uncertainty for Fury vs. Dillian to do 1.5 to 2 million buys on PPV.

Hearn wants Fury vs. Wilder III canceled 

“His camp in Portugal has been incredible. He’s in unbelievable shape,” said hearn to IFL TV on Dillian Whyte. “He’s happy, and that’s all that matters, and as long as his head is in the right place, I think he’s going to do a job on Alexander Povetkin. I think he’s going to make a major statement.”

“Well, if he does, then I think that fight should be canceled,” said Hearn when told the news of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum wanting to do the Fury vs. Wilder III fight in February.

Image: Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 cancelled if it's pushed back to February 2021

“I think Dillian Whyte should be enforced immediately as the mandatory for Tyson Fury. We’ve already got a deadline by the end of February. Why can’t they do the fight?” said Hearn.

As for where he will stage the Fury vs. Dillian fight, Hearn says he’ll put in Saudi Arabia or at the Matchroom Fight Camp at his old family mansion in Brentwood, Essex, UK.

The way that Hearn is talking, he sounds very confident that he can stop the Fury vs. Wilder 3 fight from taking place in February. Unfortunately, that may not happen, as the pandemic has changed everything.

Arum and Top Rank will have a good excuse for why they’re moving the Fury-Wilder III fight to February due to the pandemic. If Hearn takes them to court over the matter, it might take a long time to iron out, and who knows if he’ll win.

Eddie not saying anything about Usyk

Hearn shouldn’t be so certain about Whyte beating Povetkin, as that’s a 50-50 fight with a lot of boxing fan picking the Russian fighter to win. Whyte is facing Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) on August 22 at Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex.

Whyte-Povetkin is supposed to be the last stop for Dillian before he challenges for the WBC title against the winner of the Fury vs. Wilder third fight, which now appears to be headed to February 2021.

Image: Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 cancelled if it's pushed back to February 2021

What’s weird is Hearn isn’t saying anything about WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk getting his mandated title shot against Anthony Joshua. Hearn should be saying something about Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs), as he’s been waiting for his prescribed title shot for the same amount of time as Whyte.

What happens with Usyk? Does Hearn keep Usyk waiting for his title shot against AJ until AFTER Joshua faces Fury, or will he do the right thing by making sure he gets his fight ahead of that?

Hearn is all broken up about Whyte’s title shot being delayed potentially into 2021, but he’s not saying about Usyk. He’s no spring chicken at 33, and you can’t put him in a machine to suspend his aging while he’s waiting for his WBO mandatory title shot against Joshua.

Oleksandr could be a problem for Joshua

As long as Usyk isn’t saying anything, Hearn can continue with his plans for having Joshua face the winner of the Fury vs. Whyte fight in 2021. While Fury battles it out with Whyte in 2021, you can expect Joshua to either sit back waiting or title a soft voluntary defense.

Hearn must have talked to Usyk already to get him to stay calm while waiting for Joshua to face him eventually. If not, you could expect Usyk to complain just as much as Dillian is right now about him wanting his title shot by the first half of 2021.

Image: Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 cancelled if it's pushed back to February 2021

If you’re Usyk, you’ll want to fight Joshua for the WBO title in early 2021 because that would set-up a fight against Fury. It’s a better deal for Usyk to face Joshua first and then Fury afterward for all the marbles at heavyweight.

Whyte vs. Fury does 1.5 to 2 million buys

“You do [lose the gate money], but the pay-per-view numbers are huge for that fight. So that’s a big fight. Why not do that now? But you’ve got to beat Povetkin. He [Arum] messaged me saying he wants to talk to me tomorrow, so we’ll see,” said Hearn. 

Whyte beating Povetkin may prove to be more complicated than what Hearn and Dillian’s loyal boxing fans believe it’ll to be. Dillian is a flawed heavyweight, who barely beat Oscar Rivas, Dereck Chisora, and Joseph Parker.

“Yes, we know there’s a pandemic. Joshua is fighting now. All the other significant fights are going to take place, so I don’t see how that’s even an argument. And so if that’s the case, we’ll be pushing hard [for Whyte to challenge Fury].

“We can do Fury against Dillian Whyte now. We can do it on pay-per-view. It’s a monstrous fight. It does 1.5, 2 million buys. Anywhere,” said Hearn when asked where Fury vs. Dillian would do that many buys. “Saudi or here [Matchroom Fight Camp HQ].”

Eddie is one of the many who have been complaining about Whyte having been waiting for over 1000 days for his title shot. The truth is, Whye has been waiting for a little over a year since he beat Oscar Rivas in July 2019 in a WBC title eliminator.

Image: Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 cancelled if it's pushed back to February 2021

Before that, Whyte was ranked #1 with the WBC since 2017, but he’d also turned down title eliminators and rejected fighting Anthony Joshua last year.